


Wrapping Paper on the Star

by cozy_socks29, paintingsinthedark



Series: Christmas Kidfic w/Prentiss and Reid [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas fic, Established Relationship, F/M, Kid Fic, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28234485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozy_socks29/pseuds/cozy_socks29, https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintingsinthedark/pseuds/paintingsinthedark
Summary: A quarantine Christmas kidfic with Prentiss and Reid!PLEASE NOTE: Our computers crashed and we lost the rest of the fic; we will finish it but we’re back in school so it’s not going to be finished soon.
Relationships: Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid
Series: Christmas Kidfic w/Prentiss and Reid [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068335
Kudos: 12





	1. And Now We Drag Daddy Off The Bed

**Author's Note:**

> We finished a fic! As a procrastination project from the rest of our work and as Q is completely stuck on writing either of our CM fics, they started this. And then got stuck, so Rose was called up, and now we have a complete fic. Chapters will be put up one a day at an unknown time, because our time management skills are trash. Hope you enjoy!

_“Morning, darling,” a voice says. Reid’s eyes open. His vision is blurry, but he can make out the same familiar face that he’s woken up to for seventeen years. Her hair is graying, turning silver at the roots, because no one’s been able to go to the barber’s for months._

_He sees her arm reach out towards him, and feels her fingers run through his hair. “Good morning, love,” he says. He can tell that his words are still sleep-slurred._

_She flips herself to lean over him, then bends down and kisses him softly. He boops her nose._

_She kisses him again. “I’m going to go make breakfast for the girls.” He smiles up at her. “You’re doing the dishes...”_

_“Nope! Last one to the kitchen gets to do them!” She extricates herself from him and climbs out of bed. He watches her leave and contemplates trying to race her, but his eyes drift closed before he can watch the door shut._

Light spills in from the hallway. Two figures skitter into the room. Something small and jabby pokes at his side. Reid rolls away from the edge of the bed. The finger prodding at his side continues to prod. 

“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, wake up!”, two voices yell in unison. The prodding finger moves away. A weight falls over his side. The finger starts to poke at his nose.   
  
“Daddy, it’s time to open presents!” 

“Yes, Beth, I’ll be up in a minute.” He turns onto his back, and lifts his Elizabeth up off of him. 

“No, daddy! Now!” Rachel’s shrill voice sounds uncomfortably close to his ear. He rolls over, wishing it was appropriate to stuff his head under the pillow.

“Mommy already made chocolate chip pancakes and we ate almost all of them but she said we had to save some of them for you.” Beth starts tugging his leg off the bed. 

“So you need to come because Mommy is making us wait for you to get up and eat breakfast and I want to see what Santa brought!!” Rachel grabs the other leg, and together, they pull him halfway off the bed. 

Reid groans, and reaches for his glasses. “Calm down, girls. Why don’t you go open _one_ present while I get up.”

Emily appears in the doorway, a grin on her face. “How about you let Daddy get up before you assault him?” Beth and Rachel grumble, but leave the room when Emily gives them the look. “Hey sleepyhead”, she says, propping her hip on the doorway. “There’s pancakes”. 

“I heard,” he says dryly, waving his hand to indicate their two energetic demons. 

Emily glances at them. “Girls! Step away from the cat!” Reid, without even looking, knows what they’re doing. “Rachel, let go of his tail! Beth, leave his ears alone!” She sighs and shakes her head at him. 

“Emily, that’s all your genes. Don’t shake your head at me like this is my doing.” 

“The pancakes are done, darling,” she says, and turns to head back into the kitchen. Reid sighs. _Up I go_ , he thinks. 

“Up you go, daddy!” Rachel says, and goes to try and grab his legs again. He can hear Emily laughing in the hallway outside the door.


	2. And Somehow, There's Wrapping Paper Under His Ass

Rachel squeals with delight. Wrapping paper goes flying. Tissue paper is stuck on the star topping the tree. There is toy wrapping stuck on the mantle, under the couch, and, although he has not moved from his chair, there is somehow still wrapping paper and plastic under his ass. Reid sighs. 

“Daddy!!!!!!! You got me an Elsa doll and it even has her new dress!!! And a Queen Anna doll!!!!!” Rachel jumps onto his lap. 

“What do you say, honey?” Emily gently reminds from across the room, smiling as she snaps countless pictures. Now that Penelope can’t be here, she seems to have taken it upon herself to thoroughly document the day. Reid shoots her a quick grin as Rachel thanks him. Beth, never wanting to miss out on the action, runs over to give Emily the present she made. It’s silly, really, a little picture book Reid helped her with, but as Emily unwraps it he sees tears shining in her eyes. 

Rachel runs over and decides it’s time to open another gift. Reid smiles softly, content but also slightly exasperated at the mess. He starts to pick up the carnage, but stops when he grabs a bow. Setting the wrapping paper and packaging aside, he grabs Rachel into a tight hug, sticking the bow on her head. She’s so focused on the puzzle she’s unwrapping that she doesn’t notice, and Beth starts giggling at her. Reid turns, focusing in on the new target, and sweeps Beth up into the air, tickling her until she begs for mercy as Emily watches fondly. When he finally lets her go, she excitedly turns to show him the books she’s just received from Emily.

“Look Daddy, Mommy says I’m old enough to read _Harry Potter_!” She uses the opportunity to stick her tongue out at Rachel, who pouts. 

“Okay girls, let’s not fight today,” he says, anticipating the next not-uncommon sequence of events. 

“I’m not fighting!” Beth protests, as Rachel’s eyes begin to shine with tears at the thought of being left out.

“You might not mean to, but Rachel’s feelings are hurt. Remember, how we talked about other people misinterpreting things?” Beth sighs and nods, then turns to apologize to Rachel, promising to ask Daddy to keep reading to them, even though she has new books. They hug, and Reid sits on the couch next to Emily, crisis averted.

She curls into him, resting her head on his shoulder and putting her arm around him as they watch their daughters cataloguing their gifts. He turns to her, pulling the gift he grabbed while sorting through the wrapping paper earlier from behind him. She shakes her head at his antics, used to the magic he commonly uses to entertain Beth and Rachel. 

Opening the small box, she lets out a small gasp as she sees the necklace. It’s not particularly expensive, a sterling silver chain with a small locket on the end. The heart shaped locket is engraved with their names, and opens to reveal a picture of the four of them, taken on Beth's birthday in February, before this all started. It’s Penelope’s work, of course, and it was the best picture he could find. He likes to keep reminding her of the family they’ve built, something neither of them had for far too long.

She wipes tears from her eyes, laughing softly as she confesses that she hasn’t had much time, and hands him the small box she’s gotten for him. He opens it and grins as he sees five new pairs of dinosaur socks, all wacky and ready to add to his collection. He assures her he loves them, and leans in to give her a kiss.

“ _Mommy_ _!_ _Daddy!_ ” Rachel whines, breaking the spell as they turn back to their daughters.

“Mommy and Daddy, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Beth sings, giving them a sly grin. Reid laughs, and stands up.

“Alright, that’s enough. It looks like we’ve opened all the presents now...”

“... And that means it’s time to start putting them away!” Emily finishes for him, as Rachel and Beth whine. The good natured grumbling stops when Reid reminds them of the cookies they have yet to make.


	3. Sprinkles and Cookie Dough

Presents put away in their rooms, for the most part, means that Emily and the girls can start making their Christmas cookies. Reid’s taking it upon himself to attempt a Christmas dinner this year, so as he preps the brisket, Beth pours sugar into the mixer. 

“Only one scoop, honey,” Emily says. 

“Okay, Mom,” Beth says. And then Emily watches as she takes a handful of sugar and shoves it into her mouth, Emily not fast enough to stop her. “Beth!”

“Mommy, Beth got sugar. Can I have sugar too?” Rachel grabs the bottom of her sweater and looks up at her with puppy dog eyes. 

Emily grimaces. “Not right now, darling, Beth should not have gotten sugar.” She looks straight at Beth, and Beth glances away sheepishly.

The dough, once made, is rolled out. Christmas cookies are a small nightmare, but the amount of dough Reid tries to surreptitiously eat makes the girls giggle, and so it’s worth it. 

“Okay, Rachel, do you want to use your Elsa cookie cutter?”

“YEAH!!! ELSA COOKIES!!” 

Beth rolls her eyes, then turns to Emily and says solemnly, “Mom, why does she get an Elsa cookie cutter and I can’t get a scrabble one?” 

“Well, I might just have something for you…,” Emily says, and removes from a pocket a small bag. 

Beth unwraps it, a grin spreading across her face. 

“Scrabble letters! AND they have their points! This is awesome, Mom!” 

“Best to thank Daddy instead; he picked it out for you!”

Beth runs into the kitchen and throws her arms around Reid’s torso. “Thank you daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

He grins and smiles down at her, says, “Of course, Beth, you’re very welcome,” and turns back to his brisket as Beth runs back to start making scrabble-shaped cookies. 

She’s bringing the mixer bowl back into the kitchen to make the next batch when Reid bumps into her-- or, more accurately, walks into her with his finger out and ready to walk itself into the mixer bowl and then straight into his mouth. 

“Reid!! No snacking!!” She hears the girls laugh. 

“Sorry, love,” he says, and brings one of his many dough-coated fingers up to her chin. She graciously accepts the kiss, and then smacks him when she sees him trying to go for the dough again. “Mmm, you’re delicious,” he mumbles, staring at the mixer. 

“You’re setting a bad example,  _ Daddy _ ,” Emily warns, and Reid flushes. 

“Oopsies! Oh, look, a timer is going, off, best get myself back to the kitchen to check that out!” 

“Daddy is a bad example!” Beth sing-songs. “Yeah, he is,” Rachel chimes in. “He’s making Anna and Elsa eat the cookie dough, too!” 

“Oh dear!” Emily turns, laughing, just in time to see Beth and Rachel eating from the scrap pile. 

_ All’s well that ends well, right? _ Emily thinks, as the second batch of cookie dough is cut and in the process of being sprinkled, and she sees, out of the corner of her eye, a sprinkle container _ lacking the cap that prevents all the sprinkles from spilling out at once _ get tipped over a cookie. 

“Mommy, something happened,” Beth says. 

“Oh, girls. It’s okay, we just need to be more careful in the future, alright?” “Okay,” Beth and Rachel say in unison. Emily grabs the victim of the sprinkle drowning, and distributes its sprinkles to the rest of the cookies. 

“Hey, girls…” she says, quietly. “I have an idea!” She holds up a very full sprinkle container. “Do you want to make Daddy sprinkley?” “Yeah!” they whisper, bouncing up and down on their chairs. 

“Okay,” she says, “here’s what we’re going to do…”

  
  


“Daddy, can I help stir the gravy?” Rachel approaches Reid, looking nice and beguiling. He looks down at her. “Oh, sure! Hang on, I’ll set you on the counter.” From around the corner, Beth grins at her. 

He grabs Rachel under her arms and sets her on the counter next to the stove. “Okay, make sure you stir all around,” he says. “Got it.” She concentrates for a few minutes on the gravy, and then says, “Daddy, can I get a hug?” 

“Of course! Let me just lower the heat quickly, and then I’ll hug you.” He leans in to hug her, and she quickly slips the sprinkle container (lidless, of course) out of her pocket. Putting her arms around his back, she reaches up and…

“Oh, Rachel, what have you done?!” He reaches his hands up to figure out just got dumped in his hair to the soundtrack of his wife and other child giggling hysterically on the other side of the kitchen, where they’ve emerged from hiding. 

“Emily, what on  _ earth  _ did you make poor Rachel here do to her daddy?” 

“I just gave her a suggestion, darling,” Emily says, still laughing. “It was entirely her decision to act on that suggestion.” Reid sighs and grins at her, still trying to get the sprinkles out of his hair. 

“You’ve been very naughty, Rachel,” he says, reaching for her. “...I think an appropriate punishment would be… a tickle fest!!” 

“Noo, daddy! No tickles!” she says, squirming away and laughing. “Noooo!” 

“Yes! All the tickles for Rachel!” He grins at his youngest daughter and tickles her until she warns him of pant-wetting. 

“Okay, girls, how about you go spend forty-five minutes with your new presents and then we can turn on a movie?” Emily is fast to distract so the kitchen can get cleaned. 

“Can we watch Frozen 2?” Rachel asks. At the same time, Beth says, “Can we  _ not _ watch Frozen again?” Emily and Reid laugh. “We’ll discuss the movie choice in 45 minutes. Go on, shoo!” 

Reid turns to Emily. “Ready for clean up?” She looks at him. “Oh god, no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately our computers crashed and we lost our work on this fic. We’re rewriting but it’ll take a few days to get the rest up. Sorry!


End file.
